Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

[ThaGenecyst]

More Info:

http://international.xboxway.com/news/archive/2006/10/16/xbox_360_dark_sector_strikes_back.aspx

[Flawless]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Dark Sector Interview
The game's project lead gives us new details Digital Extremes' mutating title.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/747/747264p1.html

Teaser trailer

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[Flawless]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Dark Sector: Gameplay Montage

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=15606&type=wmv

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[Behindshadows]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Dark Sector: Gameplay Montage

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=15606&type=wmv

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Ok that was actual gameplay and I must say, that I'm impressed. I can't wait til this game comes out.

This just looks amazing and I'm sure the action is going to be amazing.

Another must buy on my list of games to get in 2007. When exactly does it come out? Thats all I'm wondering.

[luv_mist]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Was just reading the joint in the Game Informer. Man, there are some sweet ideas coming in that game. I'm so behind in my video game collecting. This game still gives me the chills when I think about it. I remember when it first was announced and how it looked so great. Too bad they moved it from space to more realistic areas. It's all good. About to check that movie.



OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS!! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!! That was some sweet movie montage. I mean, it animates quite well. With all the stuff that GI said would be in there, I wouldn't be surprised to see this sucker sell off the charts. Seriously, it's mad gruesome too. The whole neck thing with his shiny boomerang. You gotta be kidding me. This thing is just sweet as ever. When is it coming out?? Man, realism on this next-gen is just getting me hyped.......

[Flawless]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Exclusive Dark Sector HD Commentary
His name is Hayden Tenno, and he is going to kill you. New screens, HD video, and developer tidbits inside

Article

Videos

Sceens

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Definitely keeping an eye on this game.

[Sandman42]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Wow. I remember this game from almost 2 years ago at E3 in 2005. The video they had then looked so good. Anyone know when it comes out?

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

Find out more about the uncanny abilities and strange foes you'll encounter as you delve into Digital Extremes' upcoming action game.

By Brad Shoemaker, GameSpot
Posted Jan 24, 2008 3:37 pm PT

The last time we took a look at Dark Sector, we got to play through the beginning levels of this third-person action shooter from Digital Extremes and D3. These first few stages set up secret operative Hayden Tenno's mission to uncover the truth behind a horrific chemical outbreak in a former Soviet state, a disaster that has mutated some unfortunate members of the populace and left the area uninhabitable. Early on, Tenno is infected as well--and he actually gains some pretty gnarly powers as a result, powers that will come in handy as he fights through waves of mutants, as well as soldiers belonging to a paramilitary force bent on stopping him.

Anyway, you can read about all that in our last story. We've now played through several sequences set later in the game and gotten hands-on with some of Tenno's more advanced and interesting powers. It's a good thing he's got them, since we also ran up against a number of his much more powerful and angrier adversaries. As it turns out, the game's big bad guy, a rogue operative named Mezner, is attempting to gather a number of transmitters together that are collectively capable of summoning a group of especially nasty giant mutants called the "old ones." These guys have apparently been percolating in underground mutation tanks since the Cold War, and Mezner has some kind of unexplained telepathic control over them--so the reasons why you need to stop him from assembling the old ones should be obvious.

Before you do that, though, you'll shoot and glaive your way through a whole mess of soldiers and lesser mutants. The good news is, these two groups hate each other as much as they hate you. As you move further into the game, it will become a viable strategy to let the roving bands of mutants and patrolling soldiers get into their own fights while you hang back and pick off the leftovers in a relatively leisurely fashion. We played through a lengthy segment of the fourth mission that took place in a hastily vacated section of town--where loudspeakers were still blaring evacuation notices--and later moved on to a moonlit graveyard that had mutated humans and dogs digging their way out of the recently dug earth to get in our way. In both locations, the two groups of enemies seemed to be battling each other almost as much as they were coming after us.

The colossus is one of the first bosses you'll encounter.

One quick cutscene in the demo introduced us to two of Dark Sector's more menacing customers: the jackal and the colossus. The former is a rickety quadrupedal tank used by the soldiers against you, and the latter is one of the old ones, a massive apelike monstrosity who barrels out of nowhere and tears one of the jackals limb from limb. Later on, we had a chance to commandeer another jackal and take it for a spin. Since it's on legs, the jackal can move and strafe more or less like Hayden--though much slower, of course. It has a standard machine gun and a slow-firing rocket launcher, as well as a flare-based countermeasure that you'll have to fire into the air to lure incoming rockets away from you, when you're facing soldiers equipped with rocket launchers.

That cutscene wasn't our only encounter with the colossus, either; we later had to fight the hulking, apelike beast as a boss fight inside a giant ruined cathedral. The colossus is covered with a bulletproof natural armor, so we had to imbue our glaive with fire burning nearby and then set the boss aflame from a distance to burn off that armor and get a few shots in. Not surprisingly, the armor would regenerate after a few seconds, requiring us to repeat the process. Unfortunately, the boss was climbing the walls and hurling gigantic blocks of stone at us, and then later dropped to ground level to charge at us periodically. But after enough dodging and shooting, we brought it down. A Digital Extremes rep told us that just as the colossus looked and acted like an ape, other old ones in the game will have other animal associations, such as one with reptilian qualities.

After defeating the colossus, we gained a new ability similar to the boss's own powers: a temporary shield. This shield can be activated at the touch of a button but only lasts for a handful of seconds, and then takes a few moments to recharge. (A glowing spot on your mutated arm will signal that you can use it again .) The best property of this shield is that it can reflect projectiles back at enemies, as we discovered when we had to bounce a rocket fired from a defensive turret back to destroy a door and open a path just after we defeated the boss. Tenno will gain minor powers throughout the course of the story due to his spreading infection, but it sounds like you'll also gain more significant abilities like this shield as you take on the game's bosses, like the colossus.

You didn't need that arm anyway, right?

During our demo, we got a closer look at Dark Sector's weapons-upgrade system, which seems heavily inspired by that of Resident Evil 4. You'll be able to visit a "black market" vendor at certain places in each level, a shady character who calls you "Yankee Doodle" in a thick Russian accent. In exchange for your scavenged rubles, this guy will sell you various kinds of weapons (shotguns, assault rifles, and so on) that have been freed of their DNA sensors and thus made useable by anyone. You'll also be able to install weapon upgrades at the vendor, though you won't buy them with money. Instead, you'll find attaché cases hidden throughout the game, each of which has an associated upgrade. Once you're at the vendor, you can apply the upgrades you've discovered to their respective weapons (though each weapon has a limited number of upgrade slots). Some of the upgrades we saw included increased firing rate, a larger clip, a double shot (which lets you fire two rounds at once), and a puncture ability that lets you shoot through one enemy and hit the guy behind him as well.

Digital Extremes is in the very last stages of polishing Dark Sector, with builds almost ready for submission on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game's frame rate has improved a bit since we saw the game last November, and it seems the developer will have no trouble delivering the final version in late March as scheduled. Look for a full rating then.

-GameSpot

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

With Dark Sector due out on March 25, PSU thought we'd get some quick last minute details on the title. Our interview reveals new information such as the evolution of Hayden's character and abilities, the use of PS3 achievements, and confirmation of Dark Sector as a trilogy.

The interview was conducted with Sheldon Carter, Producer at Digital Extremes.

PSU: What were some of the inspirations behind the art direction in Dark Sector?

Sheldon Carter: I think the best way to describe it is an interesting fusion of gritty contemporary with a dash of cold war and sprinkle of Sci-Fi.

PSU: As the virus consumes Hayden’s body, how will it affect his personality and his abilities when fighting? How will his abilities evolve throughout the progression of the game?

Carter: Only the second question and you’ve hit the heart and soul of the game! This is what Dark Sector is all about – and how it is so different from many of its contemporaries in the action genre. In most of these games your character is essentially the same throughout. You could take your end game character and aside from a few weapons, they’d play the same way.

In Dark Sector you, as Hayden, are evolving. At first you have the Glaive and can use it to its sharpened bloody best… but as you go on and the infection spreads, you’re doing more things with it: power throws, controlling it in flight, trapping elements. I don’t want to give away all the surprises, but it doesn’t end with the Glaive.

PSU: From what we have seen, there are at least two boss battles. How will bosses play a role in Dark Sector’s story, and will players need to use different abilities and strategies to defeat each one?

Carter: We have a lot of little progression puzzles in the game that help you to understand the new powers that you are getting… but the bosses are the “put up or shut up” moments. Basically, you need to use all the latest tools we have given you in order to most effectively beat the bosses.
The bonus is that every boss you beat has a power that you can absorb and then use later in the game… some of which are crucial in beating the later bosses.

PSU: Last we talked to you guys, it was undecided whether or not you would use SIXAXIS tilt functionality in the game, has this changed since then and if incorporated, how so?

Carter: Yeah – we’re really excited about how well Sixais tilt works with Dark Sector. One of the evolutions that you get during the game is the ability to steer the glaive while in flight. This just screamed for us to use tilt, and it works really well.

We noticed about a 60/40 split in our focus testers in terms of preference for using the tilt or not, so it’s optional.

PSU: With PlayStation Home releasing soon, will we be seeing any Dark Sector content supported on the new network? Last I heard, one of you guys mentioned having Hayden’s metal arm as clothing unlockable for Home characters.

Carter: I think Home is going to be very cool, but we’re still working on specifics for Dark Sector. As soon as we have concrete information, we’ll pass it your way.

PSU: Will Dark Sector have medals or things to unlock in the PS3 version, similar to the achievement system seen on Xbox 360?

Carter: We’re all big fans of achievements and Dark Sector is loaded with opportunities for some really cool ones. From the brutal: like cutting off multiple heads in a row, to exploration: like finding all the hidden weapon upgrades, to bragging rights: like high scores in multiplayer.

There is no way we’d let PS3 players miss out on that.

PSU: Has the team at Digital Extremes become fond enough of Hayden that we may see him in the future, perhaps a sequel?

Carter: For sure! We’ve actually always mapped out Dark Sector as a trilogy.

That said, we didn’t end Dark Sector 1 with the cliché cliffhanger ending that seems so prevalent in games these days. You can look forward to a satisfying conclusion. Our plan from the beginning was to make sure that we put enough background and unanswered questions in the first game that a sequel makes sense and isn’t forced.

PSU: Do you guys have anything planned after Dark Sector that you may be able to give us a heads up for a little early?

Carter: Nothing that won’t land me in a dark room with a lot of bruises.


PSU would like to offer Carter our thanks once again for taking the time to answer all of our questions. Stay tuned to PSU for our GDC coverage of Dark Setcor!

[Flawless]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

I think this game could be a sleeper hit.

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

[Flawless]

Re: Dark Sector (xbox360/PS3)

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Dark Sector for April, demo likely

D3Publisher has told Eurogamer it plans to release Dark Sector in April, a little later than we had expected.

The publisher also said a demo before or around that time was "likely" but, again, exact details are still being ironed out.